Limited Cichlid Experience.

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Ok i have a 55 im thinking of redoing (already had a post in the general area of te forums about it. It is ...

Ok i have a 55 im thinking of redoing (already had a post in the general area of te forums about it. It is overstocked and i c the fish starting to reach the stressing out size. The stocking list is:
2 Senegal Bichir (both reletivly small 4 inch & 6 inch)
6 Silver Dollars (anywhere from 3-5 inches)
1 AFB (full grown 4 inch)
1 Glassknife (6-8inches) [i am horrible at guessing sizes and he makes it even harder]
1 Pictus Catfish (4-5 inches)
1 Clown Pleco (1 - 2 inches)

My question is if i kept the pictus and the pleco could i changeout the rest to a JD or GT (maybe even a pair of them)

Hiding places wouldnt be a problem i have a broken ship, a pair of caves and a pile od driftwood and slate. (the ship and caves would be to small for a fullgrown JD or GT to get in at all so i would probably go and get a clay pot for it if i did get one.

My other plan would be to get 2 groups of small schooling fish and keep the knife and the pleco. My major concern is if the clown pleco wouldnt become a stuck "snack" in a JD or GT throat.

If you like ill upload pics of the tank setup later.

Main reason i want to do a cichlid is because of the personality. My dad used to have a Oscar that everone loved.

As far as I know, pictus make pretty good tankmates for mid-sized American cichlids.

What are you doing with all the fish you've got in the tank now? I wouldn't try mixing the ABF or glass knife with any sort of rowdy cichlid, but if you were going to get a big tank, you could probably have a decent community with the rest of the fish on your list and a cichlid of some sort.

I'm not really sure what to say about the tank size. For a fish like a Jack Dempsey or green terror, most people say you need a 55 minimum. Then, other people will say you need 55 for a pair, and 75 or more if you have a pair and want tankmates. I think a 55 would be ok for a single fish and some other tankmates. I'm cycling a 29g that I plan on putting a small Jack Dempsey in. The tank is massively overfiltered (I've got a HOB filter rated at 250 gph and a Fluval 204 canister) so I hope to get a lot of life out of it before I even have to move him to a larger tank.

I plan on feeding the young fish the same diet my other fish are on: flakes, crumbles, maybe some shrimp pellets and algae wafers, frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and occasional live blackworms. As he grows bigger I'll switch him over to a cichlid pellet as a staple supplemented by feeder guppies I'll be breeding for him.

Ok i just checked out Firemouths and they max at 6 inches so would this leave the possibility of a breeding pair plus a pictis and clown pleco without getting the firemouths to aggressive and over stocking the tank. I can add another 40 gallons worth of filtration if needed.

As of right now (if it sounds good to those more experienced) is to try for a pair of firemouths.
If i cant get that then a Green Terror (Gold Saum in all reality)
If not that then a Jack Dempsey
And for a final fall out plan 6 Cherry Barbs 6 Hatchet fish and keeping the knife insted of the cat.

Not only are the firemouths a little smaller than those other fish, but they're also much less aggressive (on average) than either a Jack Dempsey or a green terror. They'd probably be a better choice for the community setup.

Ok so when i do this a pair of firemouths, the pictis catfish, and the clown pleco would get along if i got a male/female pair of firemouths?

Also would (if i intended to breed the fish in the future) a bichir be more placid and less likely to try for the fry then a preditory catfish?

Should i not be able to get a pair of Fire mouths wich would be better a Jack Dempsey or a Green Terror for a 55 with other fish?

I am sorry if i seem to be restating myself over and over but i have done the incorrect thing or allowed the incorrect thing to be done to my tank to many times... 1 time is to many so i am trying to do the best thing i can do.